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John 20
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
John 20
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
On The First Day of the Week, Jesus Is Not Found In The Tomb
20 Now on the first day of the week, Mary the Magdalene goes to the tomb early-in-the-morning— there still being darkness— and sees the stone having been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she runs and comes to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple[a] whom Jesus was loving. And she says to them, “They took the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they put Him”. 3 So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and were going to the tomb. 4 And the two were running together. And the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter, and came to the tomb first. 5 And having stooped-to-look, he sees the linen-cloths lying there, but he did not enter. 6 Then Simon Peter also comes, following him. And he entered into the tomb. And he sees the linen-cloths lying there, 7 and the face-cloth which was on His head— not lying with the linen-cloths, but apart-from them, having been wrapped-up[b] in one place. 8 So at that time the other disciple also entered— the one having come to the tomb first— and saw and believed[c]. 9 For they did not yet understand the Scripture— that He must rise-up from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again to them[d].
Jesus Meets Mary The Magdalene And Tells Her To Announce His Resurrection
11 Now Mary was standing outside at the tomb, weeping. Then as she was weeping, she stooped-to-look into the tomb. 12 And she sees two angels in white, sitting— one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus was lying. 13 And those ones say to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She says to them, “Because[e] they took my Lord, and I do not know where they put Him”. 14 Having said these things, she turned back, and sees Jesus standing there. And she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus says to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” That one, thinking that He is the gardener, says to Him, “Sir, if you carried Him away, tell me where you put Him, and I will take Him”. 16 Jesus says to her, “Mary”. That one, having turned, says to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). 17 Jesus says to her, “Do not be clinging-to[f] Me, for I have not[g] yet gone-up to the Father. But go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am going-up[h] to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God’”. 18 Mary the Magdalene comes, announcing to the disciples that “I have seen the Lord”, and that He said these things to her.
That Evening, Jesus Meets Ten of The Disciples And Says, Receive The Holy Spirit
19 Then— being evening on that first[i] day of the week, and the doors having been locked where the disciples were because of the fear of the Jews— Jesus came and stood in their midst. And He says to them, “Peace to you”. 20 And having said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples rejoiced, having seen the Lord. 21 Then Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you. Just as the Father has sent Me forth, I also am sending you”. 22 And having said this, He breathed-on[j] them. And He says to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they have been forgiven for them. If you retain[k] the sins of any, they have been retained”.
After Eight Days, Jesus Meets Thomas, Who Says, My Lord And My God!
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, the one being called Didymus[l], was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But the one said to them, “Unless I see the mark[m] of the nails in His hands, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will by no means believe”. 26 And after eight days, His disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus comes— the doors having been locked. And He stood in their midst and said, “Peace to you”. 27 Then He says to Thomas, “Bring your finger here and see My hands. And bring your hand and put it into My side. And do not be unbelieving, but believing”. 28 Thomas responded and said to Him[n], “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus says to him, “You have believed because you have seen Me. Blessed are the ones not having seen and having believed”.
Jesus Did Many Other Signs
30 Then indeed Jesus also did many other signs[o] in the presence of His disciples, which have not been written in this book. 31 But these things have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and so that believing, you may have life in His name.
Footnotes
- John 20:2 That is, John himself.
- John 20:7 Or, rolled-up, folded-up. The point of all this detail is that the graveclothes were not missing or strewn about, as would be the case if the body had been stolen.
- John 20:8 That is, believed Jesus returned to the Father, as He had said in 13:33; 14:3; 16:28. But he did not yet understand that Jesus would walk with them again.
- John 20:10 That is, the other disciples; or, their homes.
- John 20:13 Or, this word may simply introduce the quote: to them, “They took.
- John 20:17 Or, holding-on-to. Mary needs to stop clinging, and be going.
- John 20:17 Jesus may mean He must first ascend to the Father (for reasons of which we are ignorant); or, that there is no need to cling to Him now because He is not yet returning to the Father. She will see Him again (over the next forty days).
- John 20:17 Jesus may mean ascending now, first; or, going to go-up. He is beginning the process of going up, but has not done so yet.
- John 20:19 That is, Sunday night. This is the Roman way of speaking. For the Jews, Saturday night (as we call it) was the evening of the first day.
- John 20:22 Or, blew-on. This visibly connects the giving of the Spirit to Jesus.
- John 20:23 Or, hold firm; hold fast. On forgiving and retaining sins, compare Mt 16:19; 18:18. Some think that Jesus is giving authority to His ministers to absolve sins; others, that He is giving His authority to all believers to speak regarding God’s response to sin and repentance.
- John 20:24 See 11:16.
- John 20:25 Or, imprint.
- John 20:28 Note that these words are spoken to Jesus, not as a mere exclamation. Thomas here honors the Son even as the Father, 5:23. He addresses Jesus as God.
- John 20:30 This may be taken narrowly of signs regarding the resurrection (such as eating broiled fish, Lk 24:43), making this the conclusion of the resurrection event. Or, this may be taken broadly, making this the conclusion of the book, to which John adds additional information next.
John 20
New International Version
John 20
New International Version
The Empty Tomb(A)
20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene(B) went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.(C) 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved,(D) and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”(E)
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.(F) 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in(G) at the strips of linen(H) lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head.(I) The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first,(J) also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture(K) that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)(L) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb(M) 12 and saw two angels in white,(N) seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”(O)
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”(P) 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there,(Q) but she did not realize that it was Jesus.(R)
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?(S) Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic,(T) “Rabboni!”(U) (which means “Teacher”).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers(V) and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father(W) and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene(X) went to the disciples(Y) with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders,(Z) Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace(AA) be with you!”(AB) 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side.(AC) The disciples were overjoyed(AD) when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you!(AE) As the Father has sent me,(AF) I am sending you.”(AG) 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.(AH) 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”(AI)
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Now Thomas(AJ) (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side,(AK) I will not believe.”(AL)
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace(AM) be with you!”(AN) 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”(AO)
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed;(AP) blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”(AQ)
The Purpose of John’s Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs(AR) in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.(AS) 31 But these are written that you may believe[b](AT) that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God,(AU) and that by believing you may have life in his name.(AV)
Footnotes
- John 20:24 Thomas (Aramaic) and Didymus (Greek) both mean twin.
- John 20:31 Or may continue to believe
Disciples’ Literal New Testament (DLNT) 
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.